We Thought You Would Be Prettier by Laurie Notaro

From the back cover: She thought she’d have more time. Laurie Notaro figured she had at least a few good years left. But no–it’s happened. She has officially lost her marbles. From the kid at the pet-food store checkout line whose coif is so bizarre it makes her seethe “I’m going to kick his hair’s ass!” to the hapless Sears customer-service rep on the receiving end of her Campaign of Terror, no one is safe from Laurie’s wrath. Her cranky side seems to have eaten the rest of her–inner-thigh Chub Rub and all. And the results are breathtaking.

Her riffs on e-mail spam (“With all of these irresistible offers served up to me on a plate, I WANT A PENIS NOW!!”), eBay (“There should be an eBay wading pool, where you can only bid on Precious Moments figurines and Avon products, that you have to make it through before jumping into the deep end”), and the perils of St. Patrick’s Day (“When I’m driving, the last thing I need is a herd of inebriates darting in and out of traffic like loaded chickens”) are the stuff of legend. And for Laurie, it’s all true.

This was a really fun book to read. Laurie has great growing up with a crazy family stories, some with a Catholic twist - gotta love that. She is so easy to relate to. When she goes shopping with the skinny friend and can't find a thing that fits her -ugh, that's me. When she hides the mountain of books she has purchased from her husband - me again! I like the essay format because it is easy to read; you can start and stop as you like. She has a blog now - Against My Better Judgement but for some reason I couldn't subscribe via Google Reader. (I've come across a few blogs like that - not sure why they don't work.) This was her fourth book and I think she has at least two more since this was published so I have lots more Laurie Notaro to look forward to!

This is one of the books on my list for the Spring Reading Thing 2009. Click on the logo to see the rest of my list.